Of Rangers and Ridicule
by Crime Scene Fairy
Summary: “I don’t believe this.” “We’re stuck in a cave, idiot!” Joel sneered. “Really, Lucy! I had no idea!” “Oh, shut up, you moron!” Romance can start in the oddest of places. Ranger fic, Joel/OC.


**Author's Note:** The cave is Krokka Tunnel, by the way. This takes place sometime after Shadows of Almia. In my 'verse, Lucy was stationed in Almia, but transferred just before Kate and Keith were promoted to the rank of Top Ranger. She was sent to Fall City, but it not the Area Leader. Joel still is.

Lucy has no connection to Pike Queen Lucy at all. I just really like the name Lucy, and needed a name for the other main character in here. This is a humor story, btw. Expect some laughs, hopefully. :)

Oh, Lucy is also a Top Ranger, alongside those I mentioned last time. Which, if you remember, are Solana, Lunick, Spenser, Joel, Cameron, Elita, Sven, Wendy, Jack, Keith, and Kate. Lucy's the twelth one.

I don't own Pokemon, sadly. Which means I don't own the Rangers, Joel, Spenser, Solana, Lunick, and the other Rangers that make cameos in this story. Keep in mind, however, that this story takes place some time after Take Care of Him. Take Care of Him occurs in Shadows of Almia. This occurs afterwards. There are mentioned events that will be written about (mostly Solana and Lunick's engagement, for a giant hint). Oh, and I DO own this Lucy. She's mine. Want to borrow her? Ask first, and credit. I'll let you!

Please review, remember, I don't own Pokemon, and enjoy.

Oh, and this is dedicated to **skyfire126**, for being awesome and reviewing both my Pokemon fics, putting me on her favorite authors list, and for her awesome story. Check it out, it's really great!

* * *

**KROKKA TUNNEL**

This was _not _Joel's day.

Joel didn't often have bad days. Before Lucy had come from Almia to Fiore, most of his days had been good. Sure, there had been those days that Cameron and Spenser conspired against him in order to get a rise out of him. There were days where he was forced to stay in Ringtown overnight and got woken up by Solana at some Arceus-forsaken hour of the morning to do something Arceus-forsaken task. There were days when Solana and Aria were about to tear each other's throats out… which happened rather often.

However, the situation that Joel was now stuck in topped the list. Completely, totally, and without doubt, this situation was able to top the list.

Normally, being stuck in a cave wouldn't exact be a 'horrible' thing. Joel knew Krokka Tunnel extremely well. Joel was a Top Ranger. He had been handling deadly and dangerous situations since he had been thirteen years old, when he had joined the Ranger School in Almia and had met Cameron, Spenser, Jack, and Elita.

He could swear that those four had knocked ten years off of his life in the time that he had known them.

However, if Joel had been stuck in a cave with any of those four, he would be completely fine. He got along great with all four of them. They were his best friends. He had served as an usher in Cameron's wedding months ago. He would be serving as best man at Spenser's wedding in a few months. Elita was like his sister. Jack was an idiot, but they got along great.

But why did it have to be _her_?

Standing in the dimly lit cave, Joel glanced over at his unlikely companion. She was much shorter and petite, with very curly, very thick, dark red hair that was tied into a thick ponytail, with several strands framing her heart-shaped face. Chocolate brown eyes were staring at the blocked cave entrance, panic on her face.

However, she was _much _calmer than Joel.

Joel shook his head. "I don't believe this!" he exclaimed, starting to pace. He was not happy about this.

"We're stuck in a cave, idiot!" Lucy snapped, her eyes narrowing at the blond-haired Area Leader.

Joel sneered. "Really, Lucy!?" Joel snapped back, his eyes blazing at the shorter girl. "I had no idea!"

"Oh, shut up, you moron!" retorted Lucy, her eyes blazing right back over at her fellow Top Ranger.

Lucy hadn't been a Top Ranger for very long. For as long as she could remember, she had been stationed in Almia, with great people like Sven and Wendy. She was friends with them still, and missed them like crazy. She talked to them a lot. Then she had been transferred to Almia per Professor Hastings' request.

She was mostly stationed in Fall City, because it was most central. Hastings apparently just wanted another Top Ranger in Fiore to see how it would go. Lucy got along great with Cameron, Elita, and Spenser. She just couldn't get along with Joel to save her life.

She couldn't help it. It was something about him.

Lucy blew a strand of her dark red hair from her face before tucking it behind her ear. "Alright. At least our partners are outside, right? I'm not sure how Dodrio would react, but Shieldon would not be happy."

"I thought Shieldon was part rock-type," Joel replied, stepping closer to the rocks and trying to figure out a way to move them.

"…let's just say my Shieldon is a bit… different… than others."

"As in?"

"He's claustrophobic."

"…"

"I'm serious!"

"Your Partner Pokemon is a claustrophobic Shieldon?"

Lucy's eyes narrowed at the much taller blonde. "Something wrong with that?" she asked in a slightly sweet voice, a threat underlining every word.

Joel shook his head. "Never mind," he growled. He leaned his ear against the rocks. "Shieldon! Dodrio! Can you hear me!? Can you both hear me?!" He thought for a moment. "Can any of you hear me?!"

"There's only two Pokemon out there," Lucy told him, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Trust me. Dodrio's three heads all have personalities of their own. You should see an argument between them all."

Lucy thought for a moment before shrugging. Hey, if it would help her and Joel to get out, it was fine by her. It couldn't hurt to try at any length. She walked several paces forward, reaching a few steps behind Joel.

"Shieldon!" she bellowed, the voice echoing throughout the cave. "Dodrio!"

A rumbling sound came through, reaching Joel and Lucy's ears. They both froze, and then backed away from the wall. Neither looked at each other for several seconds.

This wasn't good.

* * *

**OUTSIDE KROKKA TUNNEL**

[So, are we sure that this will work?]

A Shieldon, slightly larger than the normal specimen would be, blinked up at the large, three-headed, brown bird in front of him. The bird was smirked (rather, all three of its heads were smirking) at the rock wall behind him. For two Pokemon that had their Rangers stuck in a cave, they were calm.

[Oh, don't worry!] the chipper head exclaimed. It was the head on the far left. [This will show them they have feelings for each other!]

Shieldon raised an eyebrow. [Are you sure?] he asked, still speaking in Pokemon. Generally, Pokemon tended to speak Pokemon. Hence the name of the language and the creatures themselves. [They're trapped in a cave, though…]

The middle head - the one that was slightly more sadistic than the others - smirked darkly. [Joel knows this cave well. They'll be fine.]

The far right head - the crazy head - cackled, causing Shieldon to shy away a little bit. All three heads of Joel's Dodrio scared him, but the right one scared him even more than the first two did. At least the chipper and the sadistic one he was able to predict for. He couldn't tell what the third head was doing.

Chipper cackled. [They'll be together before we know it!]

Shieldon shook his head as he heard Joel start to shout out of the cave. [But won't Joel and Lucy be upset when they find out that we're the ones who caused the rockslide?]

Crazy shook his head. [What they don't know, won't hurt us.]

Lucy's voice came a moment later, and Shieldon glanced towards it. All four of them stared at the cave as they heard shouting, a scream that seemed feminine, and then crashing. A moment later, silence reigned. Shieldon screamed, and then raced forward.

Crazy grabbed onto the back of Shieldon's neck before putting him on its back. [We can't help!] he exclaimed, seeming to know how much he and the others had screwed up. [We have to go get help! They could be hurt!]

Shieldon had started blubbering. [It's my fault!] he wailed, starting to cry. [Lucy and Joel are dead! My human's dead! I'm going to have to go back to Almia, and Joel's dead, too!]

[No one is dead, you foolish rock-type!] squawked Sadistic, glaring back at the rock-type. [But they WILL be dead if we can't go back and help them! Now let us RUN!]

Shieldon continued to cry as they left their Rangers… their rangers' conditions still unknown.

* * *

**KROKKA TUNNEL**

Everything had happened so fast. The rocks had started to cave in once again, and before Lucy had known, Joel had shouted at her to get down. However, she hadn't been fast enough, and she had screamed as she felt somebody slam into her from behind, shielding her from the rocks that were beginning to fall on them.

Numbly, halfway through being slammed to the ground, Lucy had realized that it had been _Joel _who had just saved her life.

Joel, the man who she had been arguing with since she had arrived in Almia. Joel, the Ranger who was convinced that his Dodrio conspired against him when he wasn't looking. Joel, the Ranger who she had thought was cute the first time she saw him.

Wait a minute, she was supposed to have forgotten that one the moment she realized how much Joel infuriated her.

She groaned as Joel began to get off of her slowly, shaking. She glanced at Joel, and then saw that he was gritting his teeth in pain, and his one arm was holding onto his opposite shoulder. Lucy frowned, and then scrambled up as Joel stood up as well. They stood several feet away from each other, and Lucy regarded the much-taller Ranger.

She was able to glance at the wall for a second. It looked like they weren't going to get out of the cave by that entrance after all. They were going to have to find a way out of the cave. And soon, since it looked as if that Joel had been injured by some of the fallen rocks.

It then hit Lucy. Joel had shielded her from those rocks.

"You jumped on me," Lucy managed to say, frowning at Joel.

He was wincing heavily in pain and clutching that shoulder, but he managed a weak smile. "Did I? I didn't notice. You weren't following procedure - remember, get down when a cave collapses?"

"You're hurt," Lucy noted, ignoring Joel's last attempt to rile her up. "What is it? Your shoulder?"

Joel nodded. "It got hit by a big rock."

A chill went down Lucy's back. If she was corrected, her head had been where Joel's shoulder had been. Joel's shoulder had protected Lucy's head. With Joel, the rock had seriously injured him. If that rock had hit Lucy, it would have caused even more serious danger.

Perhaps even death. Lucy didn't want to think about that right now. They weren't going to die. They were going to get out of the cave, and then be able to laugh about it later on, and then use it to scare the new Rangers that would come in more and more quickly over the next few years.

Lucy shook her head, and then rubbed her forehead, freezing when she felt a bit of blood. She relaxed a second later when she realized that it must have gotten cut when Joel had knocked her down. Joel glanced at the door, and then picked the styler out of his pocket.

"Voicemail, voicemail! Spenser, this is Joel. Spense, c'mon man, you've got to answer me! Elita, Cameron! Solana, Lunick, Aria! Anybody answer me!" Joel shook his head and checked his styler. "Dammit. I'm not getting any signals…" He shook his head as he scowled. "Plus, my styler got crushed by a rock. Smooth move, Joel."

Lucy managed the tiniest smirk before checking her styler. She frowned. "Mine's crushed, too. Looks like we're stuck for a bit. Do you know any way out?"

Joel nodded, glancing back towards the darker area of the caves. "There's a way out back there, but it takes a lot longer than the way behind us. Obviously. It might be a good idea to stay here and wait for Dodrio and Shieldon to find help."

Lucy glanced at the rocks. "I wonder what started this, anyway," she mused, frowning as she watched over the sharp, heavy rocks that blocked their escape.

Joel snorted. "Trust me. Somehow, it has something to do with Dodrio."

"…you really think that they conspire against you?"

"Oh, I don't think. I know." He shook his head. "C'mon. We've got to keep moving."

Joel started off, and then Lucy frowned. "Wouldn't it be smarter to stay here?" she called to him. "I mean, you said so yourself."

"Keep your voice down!" Joel whispered sharply at her, glaring darkly at the red-haired girl. "And it's going to be faster to use the other exit I know! C'mon, or are you going to stay here alone, in a cave, where a lot of things go bump in the dark."

He stalked off again, and Lucy growled under her breath as she followed him.

* * *

**RANGER UNION**

A blond-haired, honey-eyed young woman frowned as she watched the Fiore section of the large map in front of her and her two fellow Operators' chairs. Behind her, she could hear bits of conversation, including a debate between Kate and Sven about what would hurt more, a direct attack from Articuno or Moltres. Keith seemed to be arguing for Moltres, Wendy for Articuno, and Isaac didn't have an opinion.

However, Rhythmi, Operator Extraordinaire, best friend to the Heroine of Alma, was more worried about the two Rangers that had just completely disappeared off of her radar.

"Sven, Wendy?" she called, keeping her eyes on where the two dots had been moments before. "Do you know two Rangers by the name of Joel and Lucy?"

"Lucy?" repeated Sven. The hat-wearing, cocky Ranger grinned. "Good ol' Luce. Of course I know her. She left a bit before Kate and Keith came here to the Union. She got sent to Fiore."

"And I've heard of Joel," Kate said. She was sucking on what appeared to be a lollypop. "He's a great Ranger. He's the Fall City Ranger Leader."

Isaac noticed the concerned look on the girl's face. "What's wrong, Rhythmi?" he asked softly. He came to the other blonde's side, taking her hand gently into his own, and didn't notice when Rhythmi blushed slightly.

Wendy, Sven, Kate, and Keith followed, all frowning up at the screen. Rhythmi was currently the only Operator on duty. Marcus had gone to visit his sister and newborn niece in Vientown. Linda was on a break, probably calling her boyfriend, who worked overseas in Sinnoh. Everything had been calm since Dim Sun had been defeated, and they could afford to relax a bit.

"I don't know. Joel and Lucy's signals just disappeared for no reason," Rhythmi replied. She shook her head. "They're Top Rangers, guys. They wouldn't do anything stupid." She pressed several buttons. "Voicemail, voicemail! Spenser, this is Rhythmi. Do year hear me?"

A few seconds pause, and then a voice came over. "I hear you, Rhythmi," came the voice of Spenser, the leader of the Ringtown Ranger Base, and a close friend of Kate's cousin Lunick. "Is something up?"

Rhythmi sighed. "Joel and Lucy's signals just disappeared off the radar. The signal last came from Krokka Tunnel about five or so minutes ago…"

"Say no more. I can go investigate."

Rhythmi nodded. "Alright. Good luck, Spenser."

"Thanks, Rhythmi."

They both disconnected the link, and Sven frowned. "I hope they're alright. Lucy and Joel are good people… and Krokka Tunnel can be dangerous."

"Joel will be fine," Keith replied, seemingly confident. "I met the guy, remember? He's pretty cool, and he can take care of himself. His Dodrio is creepy, but…"

Kate nodded in agreement with Keith's statement. "Lunick's got a real high opinion of him," she added, mentioning the cousin that the group (besides Keith, who had worked with him in Fiore many times) had yet to meet. "Lunick wouldn't if he couldn't take care of himself."

Wendy shook her head. "Joel might be able to take care of himself," she agreed. "But with Lucy around? We'll be lucky if they don't kill each other within the hour."

* * *

**KROKKA CAVE**

"Watch it!"

"It's dark, don't blame me!"

"Guess what, I'm blaming you!"

"Why didn't I go first?"

"You're taller than me, Joel, I wouldn't be able to see."

"…Lucy, it's pitch black. What are you able to see!?"

"I don't care! I'm not going in the back!"

"Why not!?"

"Because in every horror film involving caves, the person in the back is the first to die!"

"Lucy, there's two people in this 'line' of yours! And besides - it's a tunnel, not a cave!"

"Oh, technicalities. Screw them all. I'm not going in the back!"

"Seriously, what kind of logic is that?!"

"The same type of logic that Hastings had when he assigned us this mission together!"

"…I think that is the first thing I have ever heard you say that I can agree with."

"Now, what that so hard?"

"Shut up, Lucy. Alright, in about five minutes, you should turn left."

"My left or your left?"

"It's the same damn direction! Left!"

"I know. I just wanted to see how'd you react."

"…you're mean."

"I get that a lot."

* * *

**RINGTOWN RANGER BASE**

"Solana! Lunick!"

No answer.

"Solana, Lunick, get out here now! You can continue making out after this mission!"

"SPENSER!"

Spenser, Ringtown Ranger Leader, smirked. "I should've tried that one first," he mused quietly to himself. "That one's always the one that works when it comes to those two."

A second later, a blue-haired girl stomped into the main room of the Ringtown Ranger Base. Solana glared darkly at Spenser, clearly no happy about Spenser's last remark to the two of them. Lunick, looking sheepish, followed behind her. He shot an embarrassed smile towards his Leader before they stood in front of him.

"So, what's up?" Lunick asked, frowning upon seeing the look of worry on Spenser's face.

"Lucy and Joel were down in Krokka Tunnel, and something happened. Their styler signals have completely disappeared off the map." He shook his head. "I've got a bad feeling about this, so the three of us are going to check on them in there-"

Before he could continue his explanation, the door opened, and Solana's Plusle and Lunick's Minun raced in, both chattering in panic. Behind them, Joel's Dodrio squeezed in, Lucy's Shieldon on its back, followed by Spenser's Fearow. The five Pokemon all started to speak at once, and Solana and Lunick both glanced at each other in shock. Spenser frowned.

"I think things are a lot worse than the Union thought," he mused to himself quietly, almost forgetting that Lunick and Solana were there in the room with him.

Solana shook her head, and then whistled sharply through her fingers. Spenser winced at the sound, Lunick jumped, and all of the Pokemon fell silent and turned to look at the Ranger. Solana shook her head for a moment before looking at each of the four in turn.

"Alright," she said. "Can someone tell me what the heck happened to Joel and Lucy?"

Dodrio and Shieldon exchanged a guilty glance.

Five minutes later, Solana, Lunick, and Spenser raced out of the base, praying that they weren't too late. Joel and Lucy hadn't found out what most Rangers now knew. A Garchomp had made its way to Fiore, and had nested in Krokka Cave. This Garchomp was feel, had a nasty temper, and was currently nursing some baby Gible.

In a cliff-notes version, Joel and Lucy were in very deep trouble.

And neither knew it just yet.

* * *

**KROKKA TUNNEL**

"Lucy, watch out!"

Joel's warning had come too late to Lucy, and she yelped as she was knocked through the air. She slammed hard against the rock wall, and felt something snap when she landed hard on her ankle. She yelled out in pain, unable to help herself, and then looked up, her vision somehow cloudy and painful. Lucy gritted her teeth, unable to show that she was in so much pain.

The Garchomp was roaring in anger, its back to Lucy, glaring furiously at Joel. Joel wasn't able to do much of anything, considering the fact that his styler was still broken. They were in some deep trouble, and Lucy knew that there was a chance that neither would make it out alive.

Joel's eyes flickered to Lucy, and then he backed up as the Garchomp shot a powerful, deadly flamethrower towards the Fall City Ranger Leader. Joel dove to the ground and rolled to the side as another flamethrower was shot towards him. Lucy stood up slowly, but collapsed again as a blinding pain blasted through her ankle. She hissed, and her heart-shaped face contorted from the pain of her ankle.

Joel's eyes widened as he saw her wincing, and then made a decision. As the Garchomp shot another flamethrower at him, he dove forward, racing towards Lucy. Ignoring his injured shoulder, Joel picked Lucy up bridal-style before racing out of a second exit of the cave.

A moment later, a flamethrower hit the spot were Lucy had been.

The Garchomp's roars of anger were still heard by Joel and Lucy as he carried her through the tunnel, stopping after ten minutes of running. Joel was breathing heavily, and Lucy was shaking in his arms. Joel put Lucy down gently, and she leaned heavily against the wall. She put her face in her hands, breathing heavily.

"That was close," Lucy realized softly, shaking her head. The shock of the situation they had literally walked in seemed to be disappearing rather quickly. "We could've died. Oh, Arceus, we could've died…"

"We're Rangers," Joel replied, leaning against the wall. He sat next to her. "You've been close to dying before, right? Spenser mentioned something about it…"

"I was on a mission with Sven. Chromo Ruins. The cave wall collapsed on me, and I nearly died under there. Sven managed to save my life, and when I have kids, my son's middle name is going to be Sven."

Joel chuckled. "You don't have a good experience with caves, do you?"

"Not really. This just adds to it." Lucy looked at him before saying suddenly, "You saved my life. That flamethrower would've killed me."

Joel waved his hand, wincing as pain vibrated through his shoulder. "It was nothing. Don't mention it."

Lucy laughed. "Even though we fight every second of the day?" she asked him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

Joel chuckled. "At least we get entertained, right?" he asked her.

She laughed again, and they both looked at each other. Joel looked away first, and Lucy looked away as well, ignoring the pain in her ankle and the blush that was putting her dark red locks to shame. Joel was also blushing, though it was hard to see in the dark. The cave was dark, they were in some deep trouble, and it looked as though they might not get out of it for awhile.

But at least they weren't alone.

"Why do you think we get along so badly?" Lucy asked suddenly.

Joel blinked in surprise at her before replying, "We don't get along that badly. And where did this question come from?"

Lucy shrugged. "Well, I'm bored. And we so get along badly! We're arguing practically every other second, when we're not just trying to stay alive in here."

"Are not."

"Are so!"

"Lucy, we don't. You're being a child."

"I'm a child!? Look at you! You act like you're forty!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Look at Cameron and Spenser! And Jack and Elita! They can have fun once and awhile!"

"I have fun!"

"You never do!"

"I do so!"

"You don't! You're too uptight!"

"I am not uptight!"

"Are so!"

Joel was about to reply, but his face fell. "Ah, crap, you're right." Upon seeing the smirk that was gracing Lucy's pretty, if simple, features, he scowled at her. "Was this your plan all along?"

"Yep," Lucy replied cheerfully. "Thanks for proving my point!"

Joel rolled his eyes. "Alright," he relented, scowling more deeply upon seeing Lucy's smirk widening, turning into a smile. "Maybe you're right about that. But I don't know."

Lucy shrugged again. "I don't know why we argue so much. I thought you were kind of cute, when we first met…" Her eyes widened as Joel laughed. "Ah, crud! I didn't want to say that!"

Joel continued to laugh, holding his sides, ignoring the throbbing pain in his shoulder. Lucy glared at him before swatting on the shoulder, making sure to hit the one that had not been injured when he had been defending her from the falling rocks that could have taken their lives.

"It's not funny!" Lucy wailed, cursing at herself for the fact that she had just let lose one of her top secrets. "It is so not funny! That was a mistake! You weren't supposed to know about that!"

Joel laughed. "Relax, Luce," he told her. She thought he was cute? That was a piece of information he could use to his advantage later on…

Lucy just stared at him, a frown on her face as she watched the bespectacled blonde. Joel watched her for a moment, frowning in return as she watched him. The two continued to stare at each other, trapped in a staring contest that neither seemed to be keen on losing. Finally, Joel couldn't take it any longer.

"What?!" he demanded, glaring at her.

"You called me Luce." Lucy's voice was emotionless, but it seemed to be a bit… surprised, maybe? "You've never called me Luce before."

Joel frowned. "I haven't?" he asked. He hadn't ever called her by the nickname she had been christened with since she had come to Fiore? He found that hard to believe.

"You haven't. Spenser has. Elita has, a few times. Solana and Lunick are the ones who came up with it. Cameron usually just calls me Luce. You've never called me Luce in the time that we've known each other."

Joel shrugged. "Go figure," he said. He winced a moment later as he realized that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to shrug, with his shoulder in the condition that it was. He glanced down at Lucy, who had scooted over closer to him.

Lucy looked around. "If we don't get out of this," she told him quietly, "I'm sorry for all the times I've made fun of you. Which has been often, believe me."

Joel laughed. "Then I'm sorry for all the times I've insulted or argued with you," he replied. "Which, as we both know, is most of the time that we talk with each other." He looked down at her. "But you know we're going to get out of this. The Union would have noticed that our stylers blinked out, and they'll probably send Spense, Sol, and Lu. Plus, Dodrio and Shieldon might've gone to get help. We're going to get out of this."

Lucy laughed lightly, rubbing her now swelling ankle. "Are you always this logical?" she asked him, amused.

Joel shrugged. "Logic isn't easy, but it works for me."

"Some things aren't always logical, though," Lucy told him. She rolled his eyes at the slightly older Top Ranger. "You can't always go through life with just logical things. There are some things that aren't logical."

"Like what?" Joel asked, frowning.

Lucy shrugged. "That gut feeling you get when you're on a mission. That feeling that makes you do something that, if you hadn't done, someone's life is destroyed. Like what you did for me and that rock earlier. Love, I guess…"

Joel blinked. "Love?" he repeated.

Lucy stared at him. "Have you ever been in a relationship before, Joel?" she asked, staring at him in shock. A smile began to appear on his face. "C'mon. Girls love Rangers. You've got a girlfriend, right?"

Joel shook his head. "No."

"You're kidding me." Lucy laughed. "C'mon! How many others Rangers are in relationships?" When Joel didn't answer, Lucy continued, "Let's see… Cameron's married, and has a two-year-old little girl with his wife. Solana and Lunick are engaged. Spenser and Elita are getting married in less than a month. Even Aria's got a boyfriend! Even though we've only got her word for that… and Leilani is married…"

"Okay, I get it!" Joel exclaimed, irritated. "I've got relationship issues, alright?"

"I'll say!" Lucy exclaimed, appearing to be a bit more chipper than she had a few minutes ago. "You're either a workaholic - which could very well be a possibility, knowing you the way I do - or you just are afraid of girls."

"I am not afraid of girls!" Joel exclaimed, irritated.

Lucy smirked. "Then why don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked slyly, smirking in victory.

"Then if we get out, go out with me."

Joel's impulsive words shocked both Lucy and Joel himself. Lucy's wide eyes shot towards him, her mouth dropped into a perfect 'O'. Joel looked like he couldn't believe the words that had come out of his own mouth, and a blush was easily visible on his face, even in the dark light. A blush had appeared on Lucy's face as well, putting her red hair to shame.

"Are you serious, or did you get hit on the head by a rock when I wasn't looking?" Lucy asked, her voice light. She was clearly still shocked.

"I'm pretty sure I hit my head when we were in that dark tunnel, but that's beside the point," Joel replied immediately, his voice calm and serious. "I'm serious, Lucy. Don't know why, but… why not give it a shot, see what happens?"

Lucy didn't answer as she leaned over. Before Joel could react or do anything, Lucy's lips met his own. Joel's eyes closed immediately, and his heart seemed to be fluttering more than he could ever remember it before. Sure, Joel's heartbeat had beat fast before. It had been going like crazy when he and Spenser had been trying to get out of the self-destructing base of the Go-Rock Squad.

But it had never beat this fast before.

Neither of them noticed the three new arrivals in the room, and both of them jumped in absolute surprise as one of the new arrivals commented on the situation before them.

"I knew they liked each other!" a completely excited voice exclaimed. "I knew it! Arceus, you're such a cute couple, you two…"

"Sol…" came an exasperated voice. "Can you go back to exclaiming how cute they are together after we all get out of here?"

"Fine, Leader…"

"Spenser!" exclaimed Joel, looking at the tallest of the three figures.

"Solana!" exclaimed Lucy, her eyes narrowing. She was able to recognize her friend's 'hyper' voice from a mile away.

"And Lunick," Lunick added, walking forward with Spenser and Solana. "But then again, everyone forgets about the best friend, don't they?" He frowned, and then shook his head in mock disappointment.

Solana and Lucy both managed to laugh, and Spenser and Joel both rolled their eyes. Lunick shrugged, his eyes betraying his concern for his two friends. Spenser frowned as he walked forward, his eyes looking over the two for any obvious injuries. Solana's grin of victory was replaced by a frown of worry.

Lucy's face broke out in fear. "Is Shieldon alright?" she demanded, fear and worry entering her voice.

"And Dodrio?" Joel demanded, horrifying thoughts of what had happened to his partner entering his mind.

"Both are fine," Solana assured them. Lunick and Spenser came forward, Spenser supporting Lucy, who was hopping on one foot, and Lunick, who went to help Joel. Solana went with Lunick to help the blonde. "They managed to get to Ringtown a few minutes after Spenser got a call from the Union."

Joel shot Lucy a look, to which she rolled her eyes. Solana, Lunick, and Spenser all noticed it. They all exchanged looks. Solana and Lunick exchanged a secret grin, and Spenser's thoughts turned to Elita for a fleeting moment. The group then headed out to the exit that Spenser, Lunick, and Solana had created in order to rescue to the three.

Joel glanced over at Lucy once they were out, and then smiled. "So, how about tonight? That really great restaurant in Fall City?" he asked boldly.

Lucy blushed furiously, and Spenser smirked a congratulations at his friend. "Sounds good to me," Lucy admitted, smiling warmly and shyly (if that was possible for Lucy) at him.

Solana and Lunick exchanged a high five from behind Joel's back. Neither Joel or Lucy noticed it, but Spenser did, and he grinned. It was about time for Joel to find somebody that he could actually spend a lot of time with - maybe even his whole life, if they could make it work.

Spenser had known that it was Lucy.

Joel was just a thick-headed idiot, and it took a lot of time for him to realize it.

Years later, this story would be told to Rangers, citizens, and to the grandchildren of a certain red-haired woman and a blond-haired man. It would be the most requested story by their granddaughters… even though the stories of their explorations as Rangers would be the story most requested by their grandsons.

However, destiny had much in store for them.

Very much, indeed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm not too crazy about the ending. It's kind of cute, though. Please review, and I hope you guys enjoyed! Oh, and does anyone else want to see another fic for Lucy/Joel, because I think they're a really cute pairing! Anyone have shipping name ideas?

...okay, that might be too early. Hope you guys enjoy!

Oh, and go vote on my new poll! It's critical to my stories!


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